Anatomy of a quiet departure

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In two days, Josef Brown turns 35. In less than a month, he will perform one of the biggest roles of his career, the lead in the first stage version of the hit 1987 movie Dirty Dancing.

The veteran dancer, the male face of Sydney Dance Company, has been basking in the limelight since leaving the company to play dance instructor Johnny Castle in the Jacobsen Entertainment production at the Theatre Royal.

But despite Brown's high-profile tenure at the company - he starred in some of Graeme Murphy's most acclaimed works, including Salome - his former employers have had nothing to say publicly about his departure. Brown toured with the company on its American tour of Ellipse in February, and shared the lead role with new SDC recruit Joshua Consandine in Murphy's Shades of Gray. He was scheduled to end the year starring opposite his wife, Katherine Griffiths, in the revival of Murphy's seminal Some Rooms.

But unknown to Murphy and associate director Janet Vernon, Brown auditioned for and landed the Dirty Dancing role around the time Shades of Gray opened, after being informally approached by people connected with the show. He said he had been attracted by the prospect of working with the choreographer Kate Champion, and of acting, and the challenges of commercial theatre.

"Obviously, also, it's being the lead," he said. "I want to be fronting a show; I feel more relaxed when I'm in that situation."

The parting with Sydney Dance had been amicable, Brown said, though Murphy and Vernon were "a little shocked and sad" when told the news.

"I left on very good terms with the SDC. Graeme and I have gotten along well - we've had our ups and downs, of course, conflict, but that's part of the creative process," he said.

Nonetheless, Brown seemed a little bemused at the low-key manner in which the company had treated his departure. His name and photograph were quietly removed from the list of company dancers on the website. There has been no official announcement or press release.

Why the subdued treatment?

"You'll have to ask Sydney Dance about that," Brown said.

Changes in the company's culture meant that its dancers had become accustomed to not being accorded a high degree of public prominence, he said.

"It was different back in the '80s, when the budget meant you could promote your Paul Mercurios and Stephen Pages and Kim Walkers. Also, Graeme wasn't a big star yet then, he was still establishing himself

... For the artists in the company, it is a little bit sad, I think ... everyone likes to be recognised."

Murphy said yesterday this was certainly not the case, and that the company was more than happy to promote its talent. There was no formal announcement of Brown's departure because "we can't give someone a gold watch every time someone goes - if we did, we'd run out of gold watches", he said.

In any case, this was not the first time Brown had left the company, Murphy said. "He auditioned, he got the gig, and it's fantastic. I'm so happy for him."